Fuel supply device



Sept. 22, 1936. F, A, KOMMER FUEL suPPLY DEVICE Filed Feb. l5, 1933 2 Sheets-Shea?l l ATTORNEY FIGA Sept. 22, 1936. F A KOMMER 2,055,356

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 22, 1936 UNITED s'rli'llazs FUEL SUPPLY DEVICE Fred A. Kommer, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Carter Carburetor Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Application February 15. 1933, Serial No. 656,857

- 12 Claims. (Cl. 137-68) This .invention relates to fuel supply devices for oil burners and the like and more particularly to the provision of a combination constant level chamber, fuel control and safety device for house heating oil burners.

In devices of this kind it is customary to store the oil in an elevated tank and to deliver it by gravity to the oil burner. In order to control the rate of fuel supply to the burner it is customary to provide a float controlled mechanism at some point in the fuel line for maintaining a constant level in a secondary supply cham ber from which the fuel is then, delivered to the burner. In case of leakage from the burner or from the constant level chamber it is customary to provide a drip bucket to receive possible leakage and to connect the drip bucket with a valve in the fuel line in such a manner that ii' the bucket becomes filled with fuel which has leaked from the burner or constant level chamber, the valve will be closed and further supply of. fuel from the fuel tank will be stopped. l

In view of the fact that the safety valve mus be operated'by a predetermined increase in the weight of the drip bucket, it is desirable to have the least possible friction in the valve operating l mechanism and particularly with regard to the friction between .the stem of the valve and any packing. According to my invention I eliminate the packing altogether and use a double faced valve instead.

'Ihe object of this invention is to provide a generally new and improved device of the above character. 'I'he invention will be better understood from the following description and ac companying drawings referring to which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a device constructed according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end view similar. to Figure 3 except that parts are broken away and others shown in sections.

the. device shown Figure 5 is a detailed view showing part of the trip mechanism.

Figure 6 is another detailed view showing parl',

Figure 8'is a detailed view of parts of the trip mechanism.

Figure 9 is a detailed view similar to Figure 8 but showing the parts yin a diiferent operating position 'the section being taken through a ldif- 5 ferent part of the tapered screw. l

Referring to lthe drawings the reference numeral I indicates a main body casting having a boss 2 thereon thru which extends a vertical opening 3. The body member is mounted on a Vlil supporting rod or pedestal l and firmly held in adjusted position by means of the set screw 5. The vpedestal 4 is mounted on any suitable device such as the base 6 indicated in Figure 1.

Ihe body member is provided with a fuel rel5 ceivlng inlet port 'I which is preferably provided withA a screw thread as indicated. It will be understood that fuel is supplied to this opening thru any suitable conduit means from the main storage tank which is mounted at a higher level 20 than the body member I. A suitable strainer device 8 is held in position in the opening 1 by the bushing 9 which forms the end of the conduit leading from the main storage tank to the device showninFigure l.

After passing thru the strainer 8 the fuelflows upwardly thru the valve seat member I0, y thru cross passage Il and down the vertical passage I2 to the needle valve seat member I3.V A needle I4 controlled by the iloat I5 pivoted at 30 I1 is provided for the purpose of maintaining a substantially constant l'evel of fuel in the oat bowl or fuel container I6.

The main body memberV is provided with a downward extension I8 of substantially L-shaped 35 formation as indicated in Figure 1. In the lower part of this extension is provided an outlet fuel passageway 20 which is screw-threaded at 2i to receive the bushing nut 22. In the form of device shown in the drawings two of these out- 40 lets are provided. The bushing nuts 22 serve to draw the bowl up tightly against the body member I, the contact between the bowl and body member being'sealed by gaskets 23 and 24 as indicated. The bushing nuts 22 `have outlets 25 45 which are screw-threaded for connection of the pipe line which leads to the fuel burners.

A suitable control valve 26, screw-threaded into the casting I and provided with a'combined indicator and operating handle 21 is used to con- 50 rtrol the inlet opening to each one of the outlet from the vent 38 into a trip bucket 32. The trip bucket is provided with a perforated cover 33, crimped in position by means of the annular corrugations 34 in the bucket wall. 'I'he perforations in the cover 33 'are indicated at 33a, and these are for the purpose of' admitting fuel to the lower part of the bucket, the cover serving to permit the escape of air and to keep any inci- -dental trash from dropping to the bottom of the bucket and being immersed in the oil.

' It should be noted that the trip bucket 32 is not necessarily placed at the level indicated in Figure 1, but may be substantially lower so that leakage from the fuel burner may be conveyed by gravity to this bucket, the same as leakage from the constant level chamber is conveyed to it. It will be understood that in certain installations it may be desired to shut oil the ilow of the fuel from the main tank in case of serious leakage from the burner as well asin case of leakage from the constant level chamber. e

The main casting is provided with an upwardly extending bracket 35 to which a rocker arm 36 is pivotally connected as at 31. The bucket supporting arm 38 is also pivoted to the bracket 35 as indicated at 39. Arm 38 has a cam surface 48 (Figs. 5, 8 and 9) which underlies and contacts with a bridge 4|, formed on the rocker arm 3E. 'I'he relation of the cam surface 40 to the pivot .39 is such that when the arm 38 is in its uppermost position, as indicated in solid lines in Figure 1, the cam has not reached the upper dead center of its movement in the counter-clockwise direction and, therefore, downward or clockwise movement of the arm 38 may be resisted by a downward pressure on the bridge 4|.I This pressure is supplied by means of the spring 42 which is held in position between a retainer 43 and a. second bridge 44 on the lever 36. The retainer 43 is mounted on the end of the stem of the valve 45 which is adapted, when closed, to shut oi fuel ow thru the valve seat I0. The valve 45 is provided with a stem548 and collar 41. A substantial amount of adjustment of the pres- Sure at which the valve will be closed is provided for by the adjusting screw 48 which is mounted in the bracket 35 and is provided with a tapered portion 49. The tapered portion terminates in a pilot 58, as indicatedvin Figure 6. The lever 38 is provided with a lug or cam I, the lower portion of which contacts with the tapered surface 49 and thereby limits the upward or counterclockwise movement of the lever 38. By adjustment of screw 48, the linut of counter-clockwise movement of lever 38 can be varied toward or away from the upper dead center position, which, of course, varies the pressure required to release cam 40 from engagement with bridge 4|, as in Fig. 9, and trip the mechanism. The uppermost position of the valve 45 is determined by a combination bushing and valve seat member 52 which is screw threaded into the main body member.

The member 52 is provided with a bore which loosely receives the stem 45 of the shutoi! valve and the lower end of this bore is formed as a valve seat which may, if desired, be provided with a suitable seating gasket 53.

The end oi' the lever 38 is provided with a hook 54 to receive the bucket supporting link 55. The lower portion of the link 55, comprises the T-shaped member 55 which may be inserted thru a slot 51 in the cover until the narrow neck portion 58 lies in the circular opening 59 in the center of the cover and then turned 90 degrees with respect to the cover to move the shoulders 60 out of registry with the slot.

In order to further insure against leakage from the device, I preferably cast a downwardly extending annular recess 55 in the main body casting surrounding the bushing 52 and the valve stem 45.' Fuel leaking past the valve seat 53 will run down into this annular recess from which it is conveyed down into the iloat chamber thru the substantially vertical passageway 51 as indicated in Figure 2.

In operation the device is mounted at a suitable heisht on the rod 4 to supply oil to the oil burner and the opening 1 is connected to the main fuel supply tank. Each of the openings 25 is connected to a burner which is to be operated. 'Ihe valves 25 are then adjusted to supply the proper amount of fuel to the burners and the arm 38 is lifted to the position shown in Figure 1. The set screw 48 is then screwed inwardly until the trip mechanism operates by its own weight Without any oil in the bucket 32. The screw 48 is then turned back approximately one-half a turn and the lever 38 again lifted. This opens the valve 45 and permits fuel to ilow in thru the passages 1|I1| ||2|3 into the iloat bowl I 6. When the level A-A is reached, the float valve |4 is closed automatically.

It will be understood that the bucket 32 is placed at the level shown in Figure 1 only if it is desired to operate the trip mechanism by leakage from the iioat chamber I5 without regard to the leakage from the burner. If the leakage from the burner is to be used to operate the trip mechanism the bucket 32 will be placed at a somewhat lower level than that shown in Figure 1 and a conduit provided to convey leakage from the burner by gravity to the bucket.

As long as the burner is in operation with the lever 38 in the position shown in Figure 1, the upper end of the valve member 45 is held against the valve seat member 52 and the contact is sealed by the gasket 53. The primary force which holds the valve in this position is the weight of the bucket which tends to push upwardly on the bridge member 4 I, raising lever 35 and pressing against spring 42 which in turn lifts the valve and holds it in position against gasket 53.

Whenever a substantial amount of oil collects in the bucket either by reason of leakage from the constant level chamber or from the burner so as to increase the weight of the bucket apredetermined extent, the upward pressure on the bridge 4| becomes so great as to compress lthe spring 42 and allow cam 40 to slip from under the bridge 4I. The lever 38 then drops to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1 with the lug 65 of lever 38 resting on bridge 44 which, in turn, strikes the collar 41 on the valve 45, forciblyclosing the valve against the lower valve seat I 0. This, of course, moves the valve 45 away from the gasket 53, but with the valve closed against the lower seat l0, the possibility of leakage at 53 is of no importance. Dropping of valve 45 completely shuts oft the iiow oi oil from the main tank to the constant level chamber and burner and keeps it shut ofi' until the trouble is located and the trip mechanism is reset by the operator;

The invention is not hunted in structure shown but may be modified in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of al1 such modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

I claim:

1. A device of the a main body member, a downwardly extending projection on said main body member, a substantially cup shaped fuel container surrounding said extension, means for attaching said containerfvto--saidextension, a fluid passageway formed in said attaching means, a fluid passage-- way in' said body member communicating with said container, and a float valve mechanism in said container for controlling said inlet passage-` way. l

' 2. A device of the class described comprising a main body member, a downwardly extending projection on said main body member, a substantially cup shaped fuel container surrounding said extension, screw-threaded means'for attaching said container to said extension, an outlet passageway formed in said screw-threaded means, a control valve mounted on said body member for controlling said outlet, an inlet passageway in said body member leading to said container, and a float valve mechanism in said container for controlling said inlet passageway.

3. A safety device of the class described comprising main body structure, a fluid passageway formed in said structure, a valve seat in said passageway, a valve cooperating with said seat to control said passageway, said valve having a head andy stem. said stem being of smaller diameter than said valve and that portion of said valve adjacent said stem forming a seating portion, said body member being apertured for receiving said valve stem, and trip bucket mechanism constructed and arranged to hold said valve portion against the portion of said body structure around said aperture so as to seal said aperture during normal operation, and to operate said valve in the other direction to close said passageway when the weight of said trip bucket and its contents exceeds a predetermined amount.

4. In a safety device for oil burners, a main body member having a passageway therein and a bracket thereon, a double ended valve extending into said passageway and adapted to close the same when moved in one direction, a bushing threaded into said body member and loosely surrounding the stem of said valve, the inner end of said bushing terminating in a seat, a lever pivoted to said bracket and yieldably holding said valve against said seat, a second lever pivoted to said bracket for holding said first named lever in position, a trip bucket carried by said second lever, and means whereby a predetermined increase in the weight of said bucket and its contents will remove said valve from said seat and cause it to close said passageway.

5. Ina device of the class described, a body member having a bore, a valve seat member threaded into said bore, a double-faced valve member having one with said seat member and a stem in said bore, a screw threaded bushing 100581? Surmunding said valve stem, the lower end of said bushing being adapted to serve as a seat for the other face of said valve, a lever pivoted to said casting details' to the class described comprising face adapted to cooperate and yieldably holding said valve against said bushing, a trip bucket mechanism contacting with said lever and normally holding it insaid position, and means operated upon a predetermined increase in the weight of said trip bucket mechanism for moving said valve'to its opposite position and holding it there.

6. In a safety device, a mainbody member having a passageway therethrough, a valve extending into said passageway and adapted 'to control the same, a pivoted arm mounted on said body member. a drainage bucket carried /by said pivoted arm, a second arm pivoted'to said body member, said second arm being adapted to move said valve to open or closed position, said first arm having a portion engaginga portion ofthe secondarm and normally operated by the weightof the trip bucket-to hold said valve in open position,.said iirst named arm having a second portion adapted to cooperate with another portion of said second arm to close the said valve when the normal weight of said trip bucket is exceeded.

7. In a safety device, a body member having a passageway therethrough. a double seated valve for controlling said passageway, a first arm pivoted to said body member and adapted to carry a drainage bucket, a second arm pivoted to said body member and adapted to operate said valve,

said first arm having a portion for contacting said second arm to normally hold said valve closed against one of said seats and said first'anhaving another portion constructed and arranged to hold said valve against the other of said seats under abnormal conditions. .Y

8. In a safety device, a body member having a passageway therethrough, a valve for controlling said passageway, a first arm pivoted to said body member and adapted to carry a drainage bucket for urging said arm in a certain direction, a second arm pivoted to said body member and adapted to operate said valve, said first arm being constructed and arranged when urged in said direction under certain conditions to contact said second arm to normally hold said valve in one position and when urged in said direction under different conditions to contact with said second arm to hold said valve in another position.

9. In a safety device, a main body member having a fuel passageway therethrough, said fuel passageway comprising two portions on an angle to each other and a chamber at the junction o'f said two portions, an opening in a wall of said chamber co-axial with one portion of said passageway, a valve mounted in said chamber, said valve having a stem loosely mounted in said opening, a gasket surrounding said opening and said stem within said chamber, and means including a drainage bucket for normally holding said valve against said gasket to seal said opening and for operating said valve to close said passageway.

10. In a device of the class described, body structure including a fluid passageway having a valve seat therein, a pair of levers pivoted to said structure, valve means cooperable with said valve seat and having a stem portion extending through an aperture in said body structure, and weighted means applied to one of said levers, the other lever being constructed and arranged to selectively actuate said valve in directions to seat against said valve seat for closing said passageway and against said body structure for sealing said stem-receiving aperture, said weighted lever having portions for engaging the other lever so as to move the same in a direction to cause said valve means to seal said aperture during a portion .lever ln said direction.

of the movement of said weighted lever in one A direction andato close said passageway during another portion of the movement of said weighted 11. A device as specified in claim 10 in which said valve-actuating lever includes a pair of abutments and said weighted lever includes a projecv tion constructed and arranged to engage one of said abutments during a portion of the movementstructure including a iluid .7: e; eway having a valve seat therein, a pair of levers plvoted to said structure, valve Ymeans cooperable with said valve seat and having a stem portion extending through an aperture in said body structure, and adjustable means for applying variable resistance to pivoting ofv said weighted lever. the other lever being constructed and arranged to selectively actuate said valve means in directions to seat against said valve seat for closing said passageway and against said body structure for sealing said stem-receiving aperture, said weighted lever having portions for engaging the other lever so as to move the same in a direction to cause said valve means to seal said aperture during a portion of the movement of said weighted lever and to close said passageway during another portion of the movement of said weighted lever.

" FRED A. KOMMER. 

